Author Interview: Lauren Baratz-Logsted [Crazy Beautiful]

Lauren Baratz-Logsted is the author of Crazy Beautiful which will be released on September 7, 2009. She's written teen books such as Angel's Choice and Secrets of My Suburban Life and also, The Sister's Eight series for kids. Thank you for taking the time out to do this interview and I look forward to reading Crazy Beautiful when it comes out.

For more info on Lauren, check out her official website: http://www.laurenbaratzlogsted.com

1) How old were you when you decided to start writing?
Twelve. My either-grade English teacher made the class listen to him read of mine three days running. For the first time I thought, "Hmm...maybe I've got something here..."

2) What inspired you to write Crazy Beautiful?
I've always been fascinated with Beauty & the Beast so I wanted to do something with that, only contemporary. So I thought, "How about a boy with hooks for hands?" Not that being physically disabled in any way makes someone a beast - please, don't anyone send me hate mail! - but we all know kids can be cruel and this is particularly true of the kids in Lucius Wolfe's new school since rumor has it he was responsible for the explosion that took his hands. The theme of Beauty & the Beast is that love transforms, so I wanted to see if love would transform Lucius and how it would help him redeem himself.

3) Are the characters in the book based on someone you know?

Nope. So not only do I not want anyone sending me hate mail, I also don't want anyone suing me. I did once know a guy with hooks who shot a mean game of pool, as does Lucius, but there all similarities between characters and people I have known ends.

4) What was the hardest part about writing Crazy Beautiful?

I thought writing in the first person as a boy, which I do for half of the book, would be hard, but Lucius's voice came naturally to me. Honestly, none of the actual writing was hard. Is it OK for an author to say that? I just had so much fun writing this book, it never felt like the writing was hard or constructing the story, so I guess I'd have to say the hardest part was saying goodbye to the characters when my work with them was done.

5) Since Crazy Beautiful is a love story, do you consider yourself to be a hopeless romantic?

Yes. Not all my books are love stories, but I am indeed a hopeless romantic.

6) If you had to sum up your book in one word what would it be?

Crazybeautiful. (I hope.)

7) Are there any new authors that have sparked your interest?

All the time! In terms of YA, every time I go to the bookstore or library, I see new things I want. The last three I've loved by new-to-me authors were Heidi Ayarbe's FREEZE FRAME, Kristin Cashore's GRACELING, and WHAT I SAW AND HOW I LIED by Judy Blundell.

8) What book are you currently reading?

For YA I'm reading GIRL V. BOY by Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout, which is superfun, and I'm also reading the adult novel BAREFOOT, by Elin Hilderbrand.

9) Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Yes. My husband Greg Logsted's middle-grade novel ALIBI JUNIOR HIGH is out now - please buy it! OK, that's probably not what you had in mind. So in addition to that, how about this: Thank you. I'm humbled that anyone reads the things I write and I do hope people enjoy them.

10) Tell us something about yourself that no one knows about.
I only type with five fingers. I've sold 20 books to publishers since 2003 and still don't know how to type properly.